Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jun 7th We Will Not Forsake The House Of Our God.

Today’s Passage – Nehemiah 10 – 13 

For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God. (Nehemiah 10:39)

 As I read the passage this morning from the 10th chapter of Nehemiah the phrase, “we will not forsake the house of our God” jumped out at me.  In this carefree day that we live in we see the house of God being forsaken in many ways.  Let me list some of them: 

1  In the area of giving. 

The context of this chapter deals with this point.  The people made a vow here that they would put God first in their tithes and offerings.  Today, in our churches, the sad reality is that very few people tithe; and by not giving they are voting to forsake the house of God.  The strength of God’s house will be determined by the support of the people.  

We also forsake the house of God when we do not give our time in service to the Lord. 

2  In the area of going. 

Two things I think of when it comes to going.  The first is that many folks just don’t go to church as often as they should.  The Bible is clear that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, especially in these last days.   

Secondly, however, we see very few people in our churches that are willing to go out into the highways and hedges and share the gospel with the folks in their community.  Jesus commands us to go; and when we fail to obey Him in this area we are forsaking the House of God. 

3  In the area of gossip 

If the Christian is going to be able to live the victorious Christian life, he must be a part of a strong church.  However, when people run their mouths about the preacher or the church, they are reducing the strength of the ministry.  They are forsaking the House of God. 

In this post Christian culture that we live in today, God’s people must determine to support and strengthen the House of God.  We desperately need strong churches today if our families are to survive in their fight against the world, flesh, and the devil.  

Jun 6th The Qualifications Are Simple

Today’s Passage – Nehemiah 7 – 9  

When Nehemiah was looking for a man to be the mayor of Jerusalem.  He looked for a man with three qualifications:  

1  He chose a man that was a follower.  

Now the man that he chose happened to be his brother.  I am not advocating nepotism here; but the fact of the matter is that the people that we entrust with positions of leadership should be familiar to us.  We need to know their qualities; and we need to know their flaws.  They ought to be people that we have had a working relationship with in the past.  People that have proven themselves over the years.   A good leader will have already been a good follower.

2  He chose a man that was faithful.  

God has told us that a faithful man is hard to find.  By the way, we ought to select people based on the faithfulness of their past; not on the promised faithfulness of their future.    

 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.           (Luke 16:10)

 3  He chose a man that feared God.

If you are looking for a wise leader, look for someone who fears the Lord.  The Bible is clear that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom.  People who do not fear the Lord cannot even begin to have wisdom.

Jun 4th Building Something For God

Today’s Passage – Nehemiah 1 – 3

And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.  

(Nehemiah 2:5)  

I love reading these stories about people who build something great for the Lord.  Nehemiah heard that his home city, Jerusalem, was in a mess and he decided to do something about it.  I see in this passage a pattern that can be followed by God’s people today as we desire to be used of Him to fulfill His will for our lives.  

1  Nehemiah prayed – He had a burden for Jerusalem and the people of God.  

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, (Nehemiah 1:3-4) 

He wept; he fasted; and he prayed for the condition of Jerusalem.  When he prayed, he reminded God of the promises that God had made about His mercy on the people if they would turn back to God.  

2  Nehemiah performed – he took action.  

The difference between Nehemiah and most of us is that he was willing to prepare and act upon the burden that he had.  So many of us have a burden to do something; but we never get to the point where we take action.  In the local church, we see many people who know what needs to be done; but never actually do it.  Don’t just talk about (or worse complain about it); do something about it.  

3  Nehemiah persisted – He did not quit.  

So many of us today allow the slightest things to knock us off course.  Nehemiah did not quit because of the difficulty of the task; or from the opposition that he faced (which will always be there).    

When I read these passages, I get excited about doing something for the Lord.  I want to be able to say at the end of my life (and at the end of my day) that I accomplished something for the Lord.

Jun 3rd (No Title)

Today’s Passage – Ezra  8 – 10 

Jun 2nd Leave Them Be

Today’s Passage – Ezra 5 – 7

Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.          (Ezra 6:7)

This verse jumped out at me when I read it.  Darius the King of Persia ordered the governors that were over the land of Judah to let the people of God alone; and stop trying to hinder them in their work of re-building the Temple.  If you recall from chapter 4, the devil had used some people to complain to the king about the Jews and the work they were trying to do.   The king (Atexerxes at the time) ordered the work stopped, because he believed the lies of these men.  Later, however, the people of God went back to work, apparently without authorization.  Again the children of the devil began to complain and worked to stop the people of God from their work.  This time, King Darius (whose heart was in the Lord’s hand) not only approved their work; but also financed it.  And best of all, he commanded that the enemies of God were to “leave them alone” in their work.

Today, there are many people inside and outside of the church that are working against the cause of Christ.  We can’t really do too much about the government, or anybody else outside of the local church; but let me offer some advice to those of you within the local body.  You need to find a way to support and serve your church as it strives to fulfill the Great Commission.  Keep your hands of hindrance off those who are trying to bring the ministry forward.  Lead, follow, but by all means get out of the way of the folks who are trying to do what God has called them to do.  Leave them be.

Jun 1st It’s Never Going To Be The Same

Today’s Passage – Ezra 1 – 4

But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

In chapter 3 of today‘s passage we see the children of Israel (or at least some of them) back in their land after a long captivity in Babylon and Persia.  Eventually they begin the process of rebuilding the Temple of God that had been completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar years earlier.  Remember, the Temple that had been constructed by Solomon was perhaps the most beautiful piece of architecture that has ever been built, with literally tons of gold covering much of the building itself, and also the furniture and instruments used in the temple.  The building that they were in the process of constructing now could not possibly compare to the old one.   However, it is important to note that these elder men who were despondent over the lack of luxury in this new temple had actually never seen the presence of God at the old one.  At the time that they were there (before the captivity), the glory of God had long since departed because of the falling away of the people of God.  So these elders were upset simply because of a building.  They failed to see that this new building, though not nearly as ornate and expensive as the old, had the potential for being a place where God would actually meet with His people.

In my 20 years or so of being saved, I have seen this same mentality.  I have seen church buildings that were absolutely gorgeous with large auditoriums, countless classrooms, fellowship halls, and even landscaped gardens.  However many of these buildings, though beautiful, have “Ichabod” written all over them.  But on the other side of town there is a storefront building with no classrooms where a preacher and church are boldly proclaiming the Truth, with the Spirit of God all over them.  Yet, most people in the world; and even most Christians would say that the church with the beautiful facility is the “real” church.

One more thought from this passage:  Sometimes, those that have been saved for awhile, and have seen the power of God in previous years, tend to live in the past.  God does not live in the past.  Actually he is way ahead of us.  We are supposed to be following Him.  This is partially what Paul meant when he said, “leaving those things which are behind”.  I believe the greatest movement of God is yet to come.  I believe the greatest days of Jersey Shore Baptist Church will be in the tomorrows; not in the yesterdays.  While I rejoice over what God has done in the past, I am looking for “greater works than these”.

May 31st You’ve Gone Too Far This Time

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 35 – 36 

And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. 

God, in His mercy, will send us messengers to warn us of  the judgment that is coming if we fail to humble ourselves before Him, and submit to His will.  Oftentimes the people of God would turn back to him and would escape the judgment, or at least postpone the judgment.  But here we see the people of God, not only rejecting the Word of God; but are also mocking and attacking His messengers. 

Today in America, the Spirit-filled preacher of the Word of God is also mocked, and sometimes even attacked by the world around them; and even sometimes by the people of God.  God will not put up with this too much longer.  There will come a time when God will say, “enough is enough”.  And when that happens we are finished as a nation. 

But let’s think of this a little more personally.  Do you as a faithful member of a Bible preaching church consider the preaching and teaching by the pastor as a message from God; or perhaps do you just think of it as just good information that may or may not be helpful.  Are we not guilty of almost the same thing as these people from Judah, when we don’t heed the warnings and exhortation given to us by God in our churches.  When you listen to the preaching this week, look past the preacher and focus on the message that God has supernaturally ordained to be given to you through His messenger.  Support your preacher: cheer him on as he labors to deliver the message from God to your family.

May 30th The Marvelous Grace of God

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 32 – 34

And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. (2Chronicles 33:12 & 13)

Just a quick thought this morning from 2 Chronicles 33.  Manasseh was a bad dude.  He was arguably the most wicked king in the history of Judah.  Yet, God got hold of him; and he turned his heart to God.  And that is not the end:  He went on to serve God in a great way after his salvation.  He made right many of his former wrongs.

It was the same way for me.  I was a sinner deserving of the lowest Hell; yet, God got hold of my heart and gloriously saved me.  Praise the Lord for His marvelous grace.

May 29th Living For God – A Formula For Success

Today’s Passage –  2 Chronicles 30 – 31

And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. (2Chronicles 31:20-21)

I think one of the main reasons that God wants us to daily spend time in His word is because that it serves to remind us daily of the basic truth that God will bless those who seek Him and serve Him.  As we have been reading in these historical books, we have seen over and over again the blessings of God upon the godly kings; and conversely the judgment of God upon the wicked.  Of course, none of the kings were perfect; all made mistakes; but when they sought the Lord for forgiveness, God would always respond in mercy.  Even the bad kings that humbled themselves before God would receive mercy.  As we look today at the life of Hezekiah we see the same principle in place.  Hezekiah “wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God…with all his heart”, and God prospered him.

Child of God, the same applies to you and me today.  I am not trying to over-simplify the Christian life, but the principles of succeeding in life are really very easy to understand.  Find out what the will of God is for your life; and then fulfil it with all of your heart.  Give it everything you’ve got.  Live for God!  I’m not saying that every day is going to be amusement parks and sunshine; but you will have that abundant life Jesus spoke of.  It’s your choice:  live for God and your life will be blessed of God; live for self, and you will look back with regret.

May 28th You Can Beat Them If You Don’t Join Them

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 27 – 29 

But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven. (2Chronicles 28:9) 

For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. (2Chronicles 28:23)

In the three chapters that we are reading today, we have the account of three kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.  Two of these kings were good men; and under their reign the nation of Judah was blessed and prosperous.  However, during the reign of Ahaz, who was not a good king, the nation suffered.  I thought it interesting that Ahaz misinterpreted the reason for the condition of his nation.  He believed that the reason why his nation was suffering was somehow because of the blessing of some other god on those nations.  In actuality, the reason why other nations were defeating Judah in battle, and oppressing them was because of the wickedness of the king and the nation, which caused the judgment of GOD on the nation.  However, because he misunderstood the cause, he could not correct the situation.  He figured that if he starting acting more like the other nations, worshipping their gods, that he too would be blessed.  But the result of his thinking brought about more destruction to Judah. 

I find that God’s people today will often use this same kind of logic.  The Christians in America today have almost completely forsaken the God of the Bible.  We have “a form of godliness, but [deny] the power thereof”.  We have heaped to ourselves teachers having itching ears.  We truly are living in perilous times.  However, instead of recognizing the judgment of God upon our nation and turning back to Him, we go farther away from Him.  We see what appears to be the blessing and prosperity upon the lost people around us and figure that God must not really care about all of the wickedness.  after all, he is allowing it to happen.  People reason, “if you can’t beat ’em, you might as well join ’em.”  All of this logic results in the further deterioration of our families, churches, and our nation. 

As God’s people, we need to wholly follow the Lord our God, regardless of the spiritual atmosphere of the world around us.  According to 2 Chronicles 7:14, it will be God’s people who will turn this nation around; but that will not happen unless we forsake the evil around as and turn back to old-fashioned, separated, and godly living.